Twilight
by Lady Shockbox
Summary: 50 ways that a naive Gundam and a Dark Axis commander still manage to fall head over heels in love with each other, as well as how they manage to survive the repercussions. Captain and Sazabi definitely have their work cut out for them. Slash.


Here, have another 50 words snapshot meme that I put together to help get me get back on my writing horse. This is sort of a belated holiday gift for Chaosphoniex, too. I know that she's been dying to read the next update of _Lift_, so I put this together in the meantime to show her just how much I love her to itty bitty pieces. Thanks for being such a great friend and making me smile! Also, while most of the snapshots are rated T, there are definitely a few M ones in the mix as well. Just some fair warning. If you're uncomfortable with robot sexytimes, I suggest you bail right the hella now.

SD Gundam Force is not mine. I only own Sazabi's real name, _Stalemate_. Captain's real name, _Chronos,_ belongs to Chaosphoniex. As always, huge thanks goes to UltimateEvilPerson for the beta.

Sazabi liking poetry is totally my headcanon now, by the way. Shoo.

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><p><strong>I'm always in this twilight in the shadow of your heart<strong>

**Then I heard your heart beating, you were in the darkness too**

**So I stayed in the darkness with you**

**So darkness I became**

_Cosmic Love_ – Florence & The Machine

**1.** **Reform**

Commander Stalemate Sazabi was a free spirit akin to fire. He was wild, vicious, and dangerous in every conceivable way possible. To cross his path meant certain death to whoever was ignorant enough to get in his way. He simply couldn't choose to reform for just anyone. But if _Captain_ asked him to, he would most certainly try.

**2.** **Oil**

It was their equivalent of what the humans referred to as blood, and to see Stalemate covered in it is like something straight out of his worst nightmares. Not because it belongs to anyone else, but because the oil is his lover's own. And that scares Captain Gundam more than anything.

**3.** **Pebble**

When a boulder the size of his head suddenly comes careening through his office window, nearly hitting him and crushing his desk under its weight, Sazabi makes a mental note to redefine the definition of a _pebble_. That, and maybe their secret meetings should happen in Neotopia from now on.

**4.** **Poetry**

Captain was never able to understand the purpose of poetry. Shute and Zero tried to explain it to him once, but their definitions were confusing and not present in his databanks. In fact, literature in _general_ was an enigma to him. He remembered listening to Sazabi express some interest in reading though, so he borrowed Shute's library card one rainy afternoon and rented what he thought to be an interesting collection of poems. Poetry was still a mystery to Captain, but listening to his bondmate recite the morbid proses of Edgar Allen Poe still brought strange warmth to his souldrive.

**5.** **Aid**

When Guneagle finds himself with Commander Sazabi at the opposite end of his beam rifle, his first thought is that he's going to become a war hero. As soon as he blasts the Commander into oblivion, Chief Haro will finally recognize his full potential and see to it that he finally gets to play a bigger role in the SDG. Maybe his rank will go up. Maybe he'll even be promoted to the position of Captain. He's so caught up in his fantasies that he never sees the shape suddenly dodging into the corner of his vision until it's too late. Something – someone – rams into his side and bowls him over, causing him to drop his gun and go sprawling onto the pavement. Sputtering and spitting, Guneagle scrambles to his feet to counterattack up to counterattack and freezes, dumbstruck, when he realizes that it was _Captain_ who had come rushing to the struggling Axian's aid.

**6.** **Curse**

Captain hates the label that the Gundam Force has given him, that he's supposed to be their key to saving Neotopia from the Dark Axis. It's not a title he asked for, nor is it one he ever wanted. It's a curse. An ugly, cruel curse that keeps him at the forefront of a brewing war with the Dark Axis that he doesn't want to fight. The curse is torture, especially when all he wants is to live in peace and be tucked away in the arms of his mate.

**7.** **Sheets**

Frankly, the Commander can't quite grip what purpose bed sheets are supposed to serve. All they ever seem to do is get in the way.

**8.** **Courage**

In the darkness of the Commander's office, with the twin moons of the Dark Axis peeking out from behind violet clouds of billowing smog, it takes all of Captain's courage to kiss Sazabi for the first time. What the Gundam doesn't realize is that it takes even _more_ courage for Sazabi to kiss back.

**9. Anger**

Captain had not been expecting to find Sazabi in such a sorry state when he snuck into the _Magna Musai_ that evening. The Commander was lying prone on the sofa he kept in the darkest corner of his office, dented and sporting a series of devastating claw marks down his chassis that indicated he had gotten into some kind of fight. Probably with another one of the Commanders, Captain thought, most likely Commander Nightingale. Suddenly, without warning, the Gundam felt an alien emotion well up inside of him. It burned his insides, made him feel hot and tense all over, and it took him a moment longer to realize exactly what it was. It was _anger_. If he _ever_ met the femme or mech who harmed Stalemate, he was going to kill them.

**10. Produce**

During the first night they spend together, the Gundam's reeling mind frantically tries to produce reasons why their blooming relationship is wrong. Captain can come up with thousands of logical answers, but Chronos cannot.

**11. Lightning**

There's no rain in the Dark Axis – just intense lightning storms. Sazabi always made sure to have the _Magna Musai_ steer clear of them, but it was always fascinating to watch the violent olnet black thunderheads from his office window. Captain found them particularly fascinating, and the two of them would often spend hours on end just watching the storms roll by in the distance.

**12. Vacation**

There are days when Commander Sazabi is so stressed that he can barely function, and when he does, it's usually under a very cranky and bad-tempered front. Thankfully, spending a little off-time with Captain is all the vacation time he needs to put him in a good mood.

**13. Cope**

Trying to cope with the empty hole in his spark is useless. When he was forced to kill Stalemate on the Horn of War that fateful night, the Commander took a piece of his soul to the grave with him. So in the end, pressing the barrel of a trembling beam riffle to his temple, Chronos can't help but ultimately follow.

**14. Pseudo**

It annoys the Commander that he can't kiss his mate properly, but Captain insists that it's fine. Reduced to faceplate nuzzling or not, Chronos _loves_ Stalemate's pseudo kisses.

**15. Arms**

It's a suiting way to die, Sazabi thinks dazedly, watching his hysterical bondmate desperately try to shake him back into cognizance. Slain on the Horn of War by his own lover, battered and bloodied with an empty souldrive chamber and rapidly dwindling spark, lying amongst the rising fire and glass fragments of his own ruin… dying in itself is a horrible travesty, but at least it's peaceful. Sazabi feels perfectly calm and tired, and to die in the arms of someone you love proves to be worth it.

**16. Maze**

Trying to understand the Commander is like trying to navigate a maze. Avery large, dark, _intricate_ maze. A maze filled with booby traps and with an atmosphere of pure poison. Monsters lurk around every corner, stalking, preparing to pounce and kill at a moment's notice. However, the maze is still a puzzle: something that can be solved, given the right amount of time and patience. Captain's logic center is thankfully more than prepared to navigate the inner workings of his lover in that aspect, and there's always the promise that there's something good waiting for both of him at the end.

**17. Miracles**

The last thing Captain expects to see is Sazabi _and_ Shute trudging out of the fire, the latter suspended in the Axian's shaking arms. They're both covered in soot, coughing and exhausted looking, but that doesn't stop Captain from rushing them as soon as they're clear of the fire department's barricade. He never believed in miracles before, but that wasn't going to stop him from believing now. Not by a long shot.

**18. Nothing**

He was expected to behave in a uniform manner: to be a shining example to all the other Gundams in the Force. But whenever Chief Haro, Kao Lynn, Shute, or any of his other friends and allies praise him, a little part of him dies every single time. If only they knew the truth, that he was fraternizing with the enemy,_ that he was a traitor._ Sazabi tries to comfort him, urges him not to worry so much, but Captain knows that one day his guilt is going to gnaw him from the inside out until there's absolutely nothing left. Nothing at all.

**19. Everything**

According to Professor Gerbera, he is the greatest Commander to ever head the Dark Axis invasion fleet. He might even have surpassed the late Commander Tetra, Professor Gerbera told him once, but that was just about it. According to Captain Gundam though, he's so much _more_. He's the greatest poet, the greatest swordsman, the greatest chessman, the greatest _lover_… he's Captain's greatest _everything_, and that's perfectly okay with Sazabi.

**20. Touch**

His mate's fingertips were scaling down his armor, tracing every crevasse, every nook, completely _mapping_ him. Stalemate arched into the touch with a desperate keen, so delusional with passion that he could hardly believe the Gundam looming over him actually _loved_ him.

**21. Unison**

When Kao Lynn sees Captain Gundam doubling over and abruptly matching Commander Sazabi's screams in perfect unison, he can't help but immediately rush into the interrogation room and pry Guneagle off the brutally stabbed Axian himself. He immediately cancels the session after that, and much to the frustration of Chief Haro, it's the last one they ever have.

**22. Translator**

There are still a lot of things that his friend doesn't understand about humans or their wordplay. Still, whenever he says something that Captain doesn't quite understand, Shute can't help but simultaneously cringe and find it funny that _Sazabi_ of all people is usually the one who usually plays translator for him.

**23. Spectacular**

Everything about Commander Sazabi is spectacular. The way he fights, the way he speaks, the way he makes love… the way he can find it in himself to still fall head over heels in love with _him_, Captain Gundam, and bat a blind optic to the fact they were supposed to be worst enemies without a care in the world.

**24. Sufficient **

Commander Sazabi has had plenty of adequate lovers, but not once has he ever chosen to stay with them. Captain knows this, but what gets to him every single time Stalemate drags him down − down onto the recharge plate and beckoning him by his real name – is the realization that the Commander chose to stay with _him_ above all those others. Views him as _more_ than sufficient.

**25. Music**

Everything about Sazabi's voice is music to Captain's audials. His smooth laugh, the silky alto of his voice, the dark and exotic way which he moans…

**26. Simplicity**

Someday, somehow, Stalemate Sazabi wishes that they can have a happy ending together: to somehow find simplicity in their lives once General Zeong is finally defeated or overthrown. He knows that it's not possible, that the odds are hugely stacked against them, but as his Gundam lover had come to teach him, it would never hurt to hope.

**27. Secret**

Their romance takes place away from the prying eyes and optics of their peers, heated like an all-consuming fire behind closed doors. In the end, they would both give _anything_ to love each other without others coming to judge them. But for now, until that day comes, they guard their secret love with their lives.

**28.** **Feel **

Captain's breath is warm on his hand as he plants fluttering kisses against each knuckle, tracing his lips along Sazabi's fingers until he turns his palm over and starts to kiss his way down to the Commander's wrist. Sazabi can hardly believe the effect the Gundam is having on him. He's shivering and barely reining in his self-control from his place lying on the sofa, with Captain sitting on the edge and leaning over him like a shield. He nearly shouts when Captain suddenly draw his teeth against the thin vein cables between the joint of his hand and forearm. He feels perfect, like he's going to overload… and then Captain drags his glossa over his palm and Sazabi _does_ overload, much to their mutual surprise.

**29. Clear**

At first, Captain thinks he's only imagining it. It's not until a few weeks later that he first starts to take serious note of his observations. Getting Sazabi to uncover his souldrive is much easier when they're being intimate, and then Captain finally comes to realize that there's no mistaking it: the darkness in Commander Sazabi's souldrive is _dissipating_. Whereas it used to be entirely purple, fogged with smoke and choking the flame within, it's starting to actually _clear_. There's a hint of healthy green light bursting through holes left in the veil of lavender and the flame is brighter, healthier. The Commander seems oblivious to the steady change, but _Captain_ certainly isn't. And the Gundam eagerly looks forward to the day when his mate's souldrive is finally completely rid of its suffocating shadows.

**30. Past**

Commander Sazabi's past is a sad one. He was created as a runt: pushed around, abused, and left to fend for himself when no one else took the time to become his friend. He was abandoned and left to rot: left alone for so long that it turned him into a frigid and ruthless monster. But in the end, Captain is relieved to know he's found a solid place in the Axian's life. For as long as he lives, he never wants Stalemate to be alone ever again.

**31. Freeing**

He first met the Commander while he was being kept as a prisoner onboard the _Magna Musai_, and during their introductions, Captain was horrified. Sazabi was a monster. He was vicious, cruel, _cunning_… but as the interrogations continued, Captain saw so much more. Sazabi _could_ be kind: he had just locked that part of himself away, but the more they spent time together, the more his _good_ half started to break free. Then after that first fateful encounter, after they realized their compatibility and somehow ended up _bonded_ of all things, Captain saw such a drastic change in Stalemate Sazabi that it was daunting. Sazabi freed him in the end, but freeing the Commander from his _own_ prison was an even better feeling.

**32. Safeguard**

Captain is programmed to protect. The coded urge is so deeply encrypted into his battle computer that it's become nothing short of raw, animal instinct. So when Sazabi returns from a meeting with General Zeong in shambles, viciously beaten and physically unable to stand without Zapper Zaku and Destroyer Dom holding him upright, Captain spends the entire night holding his bondmate close and acting as his lover's badly needed safeguard.

**33. Defensive**

Shute knows he's not the first one to notice – Bakunetsumaru and Zero probably caught on long before him − but that doesn't stop the boy from feeling perpetually disturbed whenever Captain jumps to defend himself after disappearing from Blanc Base for more than a few hours. Captain is awkward with interrogations and a terrible liar overall, and Shute can't help but wonder if it has something to do with the chipped red and gold paint he sometimes sees on his friend's armor.

**34. Score**

Grappler Gouf smirked behind his drink, smug, as the Commander and Captain excused themselves from the bar and left the room quickly. The looks that they had exchanged, the way the energy between them crackled… he had been through the same thing with Zapper Zaku enough times before to know that someone was _definitely_ going to score tonight.

**35. Upgrades**

Commander Sazabi couldn't help but legitimately _squeak_ at the sight of Captain's new upgrade: Option Z. His overall revamped design, studier framework, stunning attention to detail on the armor… the Commander would be kidding himself if he didn't think it was the sexiest damn thing he had seen in a _long_ time.

**36. Risk**

Between being caught by their superiors – Chief Haro and General Zeong respectively – and facing derision from their peers, it would seem that the risks of their seeing each other outweighed the benefits. At least, it would only _seem_. The truth of the matter was that their unyielding love for one another was worth every goddamn risk in the universe, punishment or persecution be damned.

**37. Pain**

Pain hardly bothered him. He was built to endure physical pain at its worst thresholds, but Sazabi _wasn't_. So for him to have to fight Sazabi on the Horn of War, for him to actually _hurt_ his lover and _watch_ him be in pain… it hurt Captain on such a profound level that he was able to understand, for the first time, what real pain _was_.

**38. Balance**

As Kao Lynn would say, Chronos and Stalemate were Yin and Yang. They were total opposites, different in every way, but neither of them could hope to function without one another.

**39. Together**

It was almost alarming how well their bodies were able to mesh together. Drawn flush to the Commander's heated chassis, every inch of his body molding against his slick lover's, Captain was abruptly _very_ thankful for whoever fate assigned to design their bodies. Together, were like matching pieces in a puzzle.

**40. Liquor**

As the old saying went, Captain Gundam could _not_ hold his liquor: straight to the point where it was less hilarious and just downright sad. The little Gundam was fine for the first few drinks at the _Magna Musai_ bar, yes, but Axians in general were much hardier in absorbing high grade energon than Gundams were. That, and their version of high grade was at least three times more potent than what they had in Neotopia. By the time Commander Sazabi finally decided Captain had enough, the poor mech had punched Zako Red in the face in a drunken rage and passed out dead asleep not even a second later.

**41. Substitute**

The first week Commander Sazabi spent without Captain was hard. Their bondlink didn't work beyond alternate dimensions, and the hollow feeling of emptiness in his dark souldrive became so difficult to ignore that he wooed Professor Gerbera simply out of desperation. He at least _looked_ like Captain, albeit darker and a definitely thinner, but the harsh reality remained that the black Gundam was hardly a substitute.

**42. Efficiency**

Chief Haro was all about efficiency. Efficiency in the performance of the Gundams in the SDG was what kept the organization at the peak of its performance… but when Captain Gundam started to go missing more often, as well as when his efficiency fighting the Dark Axis began to noticeably wane, he couldn't help but become suspicious.

**43. Anticipation**

The anticipation was too great. Captain bucked hard, bringing their souldrives together, and Sazabi nearly collapsed on top of him right then and there. It was a good thing he didn't, at least. Captain would have undoubtedly been crushed flat under his lover's weight. When the Commander was able to collect his bearings again, he blearily looked the small mech in the optics, silently asking for permission, before opening himself up to Captain completely. The bond started, and Chronos eagerly began to anticipate what the rest of their lives would be like now that they had each other.

**44. Real**

It didn't matter what the rest of the Gundam Force told him. It didn't matter what horrible things they thought about him or that they talked behind his back and shunned him. All that mattered to Captain was that what he had with Stalemate was _real_, and no one was going to convince him that it was anything less.

**45. Darkness**

Captain's hand slides over his decorated souldrive chamber, hesitating, before gently fingering the claps and allowing the dark device to finally bare itself. The negative energy it gives off practically radiates darkness, strong and thick, like invisible black smoke. Commander Sazabi shudders and lies back, turning his head away from acknowledging the horrible thing burning away inside his chest. It's only when the Neotopian mech caresses the sphere and leans down to kiss it that Sazabi can arch up, moaning, and forget about the icy shadow of a soul inside of him.

**46. Bravery**

Zapper Zaku never thought he would admit it, but he finds he can sympathize with Captain Gundam. The amount of valor it took for Zapper to finally admit his feelings for Grappler… Pitt, it had to have taken Captain even _more_ to court the Commander. Grappler was certainly hard enough to entice as it was, but Commander Sazabi was highly dangerous and more likely to kill Captain above all else. Bravery was always severely underrated in the Dark Axis, and Zapper finds he can relate well with anyone who shares the same passion for fearlessness as he does.

**47. Deity**

Before being promoted and assigned to the designation of _Captain_, his original name was Chronos. In Greek mythology, Chronos was the father of Zeus, the Titan god of Thunder and ruler of Olympus. As far as Commander Sazabi is concerned though, _his_ Chronos is more of a deity than any human worshiped God ever was.

**48. Supernova**

Captain can feel the heat in his souldrive rising, pushing him further and further towards the edge, making his bondmate beneath him arch and rock into his touch adoringly. The pleasure amounted between their straining bodies is so intense that Sazabi is practically sobbing in bliss, and Captain finds himself close to mimicking his lover perfectly. It's only when both their souldrives simultaneously activate that they finally reach overload, pitching themselves into a oblivion. Their combined essences are supernovas: invincible twin suns that can light even the darkest depths of their kindred hearts.

**49. Life**

When Stalemate asks him to become his mate, Chronos has no idea what to expect. From what he gathered listening to Kao Lynn rave about them, bonds were permanent and completely irreversible, and there would be no going back once they started. _If_ they started. The Axian's hand finding his own is enough to convince him. In the end they _do_ bond, and looking back on it years later, Captain decides that it was the best decision of his life.

**50. Twilight**

"Love is blind," Chronos whispers, kissing Stalemate between the fang decals on his faceplate. Stalemate kisses back, nuzzling forward the best he can and wrapping his arms around his smaller mate. From there, the two of them fall even deeper in love as the twilight fades into total night beyond the window.

**fin**


End file.
